Wednesday, September 5, 2012

Waiting on Wednesday: Stormdancer by Jay Kristoff

Griffins are supposed to
be extinct. So when Yukiko and her warrior father Masaru are sent to
capture one for the Shogun, they fear that their lives are over.
Everyone knows what happens to those who fail him, no matter how
hopeless the task.

But the mission proves far less impossible,
and far more deadly, than anyone expects – and soon Yukiko finds herself
stranded: a young woman alone in her country's last wilderness, with
only a furious, crippled griffin for company. But trapped together in
the forest, Yukiko and Buruu soon discover a friendship that neither of
them expected.

Meanwhile, the country around them verges on the
brink of collapse. A toxic fuel is slowly choking the land; the
omnipotent, machine-powered Lotus Guild is publicly burning those they
deem Impure; and the Shogun cares about nothing but his own dominion.
Yukiko has always been uneasy in the shadow of power, when she learns
the awful truth of what the Shogun has done, both to her country and to
her own family she's determined to do something about it.

Returning
to the city, Yukiko and Buruu plan to make the Shogun pay for his
crimes – but what can one girl and a flightless griffin do against the
might of an empire?

Stormdancer by Jay KristoffRelease date: September 18, 2012

Japanese steampunk. Blurbed by Patrick Rothfuss.

Sometimes, only five words are needed to get a girl foaming at the mouth with enthusiasm. That, and a drop dead gorgeous cover.